With the price of oil spiraling, oil reserves dwindling and global environmental concerns of fossil fuel usage, researchers across the world are looking for alternative solutions. Biofuels, most commonly harvested from crops such as rapeseed and canola, are biodegradable and readily available making them an obvious choice. As well as the reduced environmental pollution thanks to the biodegradable nature of biofuels, biofuel usage can also offer economic benefits thanks to increased job opportunities in the agricultural sector.

Already, biofuel demand is surging around the world and it is estimated that by 2010, 4.7 billion gallons of biodiesel will be required each year. The Kyoto protocol, aimed at reducing pollution, is increasing the use of biofuel, particularly in the US and Europe.

Biodiesel is one of these biofuels that is gaining in popularity. There are three main categories of biodiesel users – automobiles, mining and marine. Within the EU, Germany, France and Italy are the leading consumers of biodiesel with the main producers of biodiesel being Germany, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, the US and Malaysia.

With Europe stating that all diesel and petrol used in the transport sector must contain at least 2% that has originated from a renewable source of energy, biofuel is an easy way to attain this target. Thailand is aiming for a mandatory 10% biodiesel blend by 2012 with India looking to achieve a 20% blend by 2020. These mandatory requirements by countries across the world indicate how popular biofuels have become.

Naturally, biofuel is not without it’s downsides – there are concerns over fertilizers and pesticides used on biofuel crops, and also concerns that farmers in the third world will turn to the more profitable biofuel crops rather than food crops meaning local food will travel longer distances, negating the positive effects of biofuels. However, as a short-term solution, biofuels look to be the answer to our dwindling oil reserves.

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